What Do We Know about Civil Wars?

Students always ask me, ‘What should I read to understand civil wars?’ Mitchell and Mason's updated book is the best one-stop primer on the subject. In it, top civil war scholars summarize the state of our knowledge on why civil wars start, last as long as they do, and are so difficult to end, highlighting the emerging trends we are beginning to see in the 21st century. This is a tremendously valuable book for students and scholars alike. -- Barbara F. Walter, University of California, San Diego
The second edition of this outstanding collection enlightens the reader further on the onset, duration, and outcome of civil wars that continue to plague the global community. In recent years, intrastate wars have increased in numbers and severity, making this updated set of essays, which also includes a greater focus on climate change and intrastate conflict, of even greater import. Each chapter, authored by established scholars, contains a wealth of up-to-date insights about one of the greatest challenges to global security. -- Todd Sandler, Chair Emeritus, University of Texas at Dallas
What Do We Know about Civil Wars? brings together insights from top scholars in the field about cutting edge research on a variety of questions in the study of civil war. As it is both easily accessible and comprehensive, I expect that it would be an excellent textbook for an advanced undergraduate class, as well as an invaluable resource for graduate students or anyone else setting out to conduct research on civil war. -- Stephen E. Gent, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
What Do We Know About Civil Wars is an invaluable resource for students and scholars seeking to understand the complexity of contemporary civil conflicts. The exemplary collection of essays curated in this new edition familiarizes readers with foundational theories and introduces them to cutting edge new research that grapples with timely new questions about the relationships between war and gender, the connections between climate change and armed conflict, and the role of post-conflict justice in ensuring long-term peace. -- Reed M. Wood, University of Essex
Scholars and students have widely used What Do We Know about Civil Wars? since its first edition in 2016. The book provides a thorough review of the scholarship on why civil wars start, how they are fought and end, and the effectiveness of various postwar peace-building strategies. In addition, several chapters are thematic, investigating the relationship between civil war and important dimensions such as gender and the environment. Though this new edition has only one new chapter, the editors ensured that the authors thoroughly updated their respective chapters. Each effectively integrates scholarship published since 2016, often showing how understandings of these issues changed in important ways. The book also highlights the many new developments in civil wars since the last edition, justifying a reassessment of the field. This is an excellent resource for scholars and ideal for undergraduates to use in the classroom. Highly recommended. Undergraduates through faculty and professionals. * Choice Reviews *